Chapter 26 Combat Deployment (Happy New Year!)

On the afternoon of March 25th, in the grove outside the south gate of Liujing, the fortress of the imperial capital, the imperial guards of the Great Zhou Dynasty, who had arrived after two days of rapid march, were taking time to rest and prepare for the bloody battle in the evening, while the chief officers of each unit were summoned to a meeting by Ye Mingsheng.

"Today at three o'clock in the morning, the operation will officially begin. The people in the city of the Supervisory Department will control the south gate of Liujing. When the time comes, you, Lord Ye, only need to hear three gunshots, and you can lead your troops to enter from the south gate and charge into Liujing City!" Liu Shilin said with a smile on his face:

Before Liu Shilin finished speaking, the commanders present all showed surprise on their faces. When they learned an hour ago that their target of attack was Liu Jing, to be honest, they all thought Ye Mingsheng was crazy. Although military orders were difficult to disobey, they were all questioning Ye Mingsheng's decision in their hearts.

Now that they knew the whole plan, the doubts in their hearts naturally disappeared, and instead, they were filled with excitement. Everyone understood what taking over Liujing meant to their group of warriors...

Seeing the change in everyone's expression, Ye Mingsheng nodded secretly. The army's morale is good! The morale is good!
Under the gaze of everyone, Liu Shilin took out a floor plan of Liujing from his arms, and then continued to introduce:

"What we can confirm now is that the entire Ryugyong military force is approximately 4,500 to 5,000 people, of which about 300 are on duty every night."

“As for the remaining people, nominally there are 4,000 people stationed in the camp east of the city, but because there are many children of officials in the Liujing army, they all have families in Liujing City.

"So according to the actual observations of the Supervisory Department's spies in the city, many military officers would lead their personal soldiers back to their homes in Liujing at night after reporting in during the day, so the actual number of troops in the East City Camp would not exceed 3,000."

"The rest are the Red Tiger Army guarding the royal city and the palace. They are the personal army of Li Zaiyuan, the king of Gongdu. They are well-equipped and powerful. Fortunately, there are only a small number of them, less than 500 people. Usually, they are only responsible for guarding the royal city and protecting the royal family of Li in Gongdu."

Hearing the words "well-equipped and powerful", Ye Mingsheng's eyelids jumped. Liu Shilin had never told him about the existence of the Red Tiger Army before! "

"Although 500 people are not many, in a battle where the enemy and us have less than 10,000 people in total, 500 people are not too few. If used properly, they can be a force that can change the situation of the battle. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied with Liu Shilin.

Liu Shilin was also a smart man. Although Ye Mingsheng did not speak, he seemed to be aware of the commander's displeasure and immediately explained:

“Master Ye, please rest assured. This Red Tiger Army can be said to be Li Zaiyuan’s last trump card. This old man will never use the Red Tiger Army easily.

"As long as we build up momentum, given his cautious character, he will definitely leave the Red Tiger Army in the royal city to protect him, his wife and children, and will never risk joining the battle."

After hearing Liu Shilin's explanation, Ye Mingsheng's dissatisfaction was slightly relieved, but he still asked directly: "I only have more than 3,000 people under my command now. Even if we take advantage of the surprise attack, it is not easy to deal with 4,000 Gongdu troops. Does the Supervisory Department have a response plan once the Red Tiger Army is involved in the battle?"

Ye Mingsheng's question made Liu Shilin a little confused, but he soon got the answer while thinking. He said seriously: "My Liu family has 200 people in Liujing City, and we have also instigated a palace general as an insider. This palace general has at least 200 confidants, so there are a total of 400 people. After taking over the South Gate, these people are willing to be deployed by you!"

Although Ye Mingsheng was not very satisfied with Liu Shilin's answer, he also understood that Liu Shilin was still very sincere. He stopped talking and turned his attention to Chen Yannian.

Chen Yannian, who was studying the Liujing map, felt the gaze of his boss, and after a moment of hesitation, he said:
"I believe that the enemy's East City Camp has gathered more than 60% of the troops in Liujing City, and it poses the greatest threat to our army. As long as we defeat the East City Camp, it will be difficult for the enemy to gather troops to counterattack, and this battle will be half successful. So I suggest that you concentrate your forces, attack the East City Camp first when they are unprepared, and then wipe out the rest of the palace troops in the city!"

Ye Mingsheng also agreed with the advice of Chen Yannian, a professional. After thinking for two seconds, he asked:
"Sir Chen, if our army of 3,000 men and 10 tiger squat cannons are deployed, how long will it take to capture the East City Camp?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, the mature and prudent Chen Yannian did not give a direct answer. Instead, he focused his eyes on the map, carefully studied the enemy and our situation for a while, and then said confidently:

"An hour!"

"No! It's too slow, Master Chen. We don't have that much time." Ye Mingsheng shook his head and said:

According to the information provided by Liu Shilin, the palace troops in the east camp should only have about 3,000 people. The palace troops in other places, including the Red Tiger Army, have at least 1,500 people in the city. The risk of one hour is too great. If the other side reacts and gathers troops to support the east camp, they will be attacked from both sides!

"We only have half an hour at most, and we must capture the enemy's east city camp in half an hour!" Ye Mingsheng looked at Chen Yannian with a firm gaze and said in a deep voice:

Facing Ye Mingsheng's order, Chen Yannian felt unprecedented pressure. He took a deep breath, nodded heavily and said, "I understand!"

After receiving Chen Yannian's affirmation, Ye Mingsheng's heavy expression eased a little. After he paused for a moment, he pointed to the coordinates on the map and ordered Liu Shilin, "Brother Liu, after my troops enter the city, please bring your men and blow this place up for me!"

"Sir Ye, are you going to blow up the arms depot?" After taking a look at the location where Ye Mingsheng's finger was pointing, Liu Shilin said in surprise and confusion. He couldn't understand why Ye Mingsheng would blow up the arms depot that didn't seem to pose any threat when military force was so precious.

(I wish you all a happy New Year, all the best, and a happy family! (●●) Happy Year of the Ox)

(End of this chapter)